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Up to Speed: What Facility Managers Want

Facility managers must be kept informed on energy efficiency, security, and energy monitoring.

by Jennie Lee | Jan 05, 2017

Today, building owners and facilities staff are continuously being challenged to run their buildings more efficiently. This can be a difficult undertaking without the right partner to address building management, technology integration, energy management, and facility services from a single source and in a reliable manner. For this reason, Envise was founded in 2015 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Southland Industries. We asked Jennie Lee, an Envise expert, for advice on enhacing a building systems integrator’s FM profile.

Q:Which disciplines does Envise include under its “facility management” umbrella? If it includes services related to grounds or janitorial work, Is that subcontracted?

A: Envise works closely with clients to support the many disciplines required to operate a facility, however our core competencies include HVAC, building automation, energy management, building integration, plumbing, refrigeration and operating staffs. If a service falls outside of our areas of expertise, we will subcontract to a firm within our vast network of partnerships that can optimally perform the work while under our management scope. We have found this method to produce better end results and service for clients versus trying to self-perform everything. We are able to focus on our core competencies while we subcontract to partners that focus on their strengths.

To be the best service provider, we need to have an environment where we are constantly learning about our clients as much as they are learning about what we do. If this relationship exists, everyone gets better and the value is stronger.

Q:Facility managers realize they need to be up to speed on energy efficiency, security, and energy monitoring. There are of course classes they can take to learn more. But what do they want to see from a contractor who knocks on the door, as far as helping them with these areas?

A: Facility managers want to see a partner that can be trusted and who wants to work together as a team. They are not looking for someone to sell or build something that is then left for the next person to manage. Envise prides ourselves on the sentiment of treating our clients as lifelong partners. Most facility managers and owners are looking for a partnership that makes their jobs easier. They want to know that they can call one dedicated person with an issue, question, or idea, and that person can either answer it or find the person that can and bring them together. To be the best service provider, we need to have an environment where we are constantly learning about our clients as much as they are learning about what we do. If this relationship exists, everyone gets better and the value is stronger.

Q:Do you try as much as possible to keep a dedicated person or small team tethered to each facility, rather than having someone new visit each time?

A: At Envise, we start with a dedicated team and then develop a secondary team to cover absences or changes in staff, in order to remain consistent and effective. In order to provide the best experience to our clients, it is critical that we become experts on their facilities. To do this as efficiently as possible, it is in our best interest to maintain consistencies with our account management approach to build our own tribal knowledge, including dedicated resources and team members.

Jennie Lee is a Senior Account Consultant at Envise, a leading building systems integrator. She can be reached at [email protected]